CN118250705A

CN118250705A - Information indication method and communication device

Info

Publication number: CN118250705A
Application number: CN202211659150.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 阮卫; 马云思
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-12-22
Filing date: 2022-12-22
Publication date: 2024-06-25
Also published as: WO2024131655A1

Abstract

The application relates to the field of communication, in particular to a method and a communication device for information indication, which can be applied to WLAN systems supporting the next generation Wi-Fi protocol of IEEE 802.11ax, such as 802.11be, wi-Fi 7 or EHT, and further 802.11 series protocols of 802.11be, wi-Fi 8 and the like, and can also be applied to wireless personal area network systems based on UWB. In the method, a first frame generated by a first device includes first indication information, and the first indication information can be used for indicating whether a channel between a sending end and a receiving end meets a smoothness requirement or not, so that the receiving end can perform channel smoothing processing under the condition that the first channel meets the smoothness requirement, and demodulation performance of the receiving end is improved.

Description

Information indication method and communication device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and more particularly, to a method of information indication and a communication apparatus.

Background

Signals may be transmitted between wireless fidelity (WIRELESS FIDELITY, wi-Fi) system devices by means of Beamforming. The beamformed channels are discontinuous, which makes the beamforming of the beamformer (Beamformer) incompatible with the channel smoothing of the beamformed receiver (Beamformee). And in the low signal-to-noise ratio (or medium signal-to-noise ratio) area, the channel smoothing processing can be adopted to improve the packet error rate (packet error rate, PER) performance by1 to 2 dB. However, in the case that Beamformer employs the smoothing beamforming technique, beamformee may employ the channel smoothing technique to improve the receiving performance, that is, beamformer employs the smoothing beamforming technique to solve the problem that beamforming is not compatible with the channel smoothing process.

According to the existing Wi-Fi protocol Beamformer indicates to Beamformee whether the transmitted data packet is beamformed or whether the channel smoothing process should be performed or not Beamformee. However, beamformer does not indicate whether a smooth beamforming technique is employed, which may result in a loss of demodulation performance of Beamformee.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides an information indication method and a communication device, which can distinguish whether a first channel meets the requirement of smoothness, so as to determine whether to carry out channel smoothing processing and improve demodulation performance.

In a first aspect, a method of communication is provided, which may be performed by a first device, or may be performed by a component (e.g., a chip, a circuit, a module, etc.) configured in the first device, and the application is not limited.

The method comprises the following steps: generating a first frame including first indication information for indicating whether a first channel including a plurality of sub-channels for communication between the first device and a second device satisfies a requirement of smoothness; the first frame is sent to the second device.

Based on the above scheme, the first frame generated by the first device includes the first indication information, where the first indication information may be used to indicate whether a channel (first channel) between the sending end and the receiving end meets a smoothness requirement, so that the receiving end may perform channel smoothing processing under a condition that the first channel meets the smoothness requirement, and improve demodulation performance of the receiving end.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first indication information is further used to indicate whether a subchannel in a first subchannel set meets a requirement of smoothness, where the first subchannel set includes some or all of the subchannels in the plurality of subchannels.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, whether a portion or all of the subchannels in the plurality of subchannels meet the requirement for smoothness is whether a first matrix or a second matrix corresponding to the portion or all of the subchannels meets the requirement for smoothness, where the first matrix is a beamforming feedback matrix, and the second matrix is a beamforming steering matrix, or the second matrix is obtained according to a channel matrix and a beamforming steering matrix.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, a second frame is received from the second device, the second frame including second indication information for indicating whether the first matrix or the second matrix meets a requirement of smoothness.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, a second frame from the second device is received, the second frame including third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate whether a subchannel in a second set of subchannels meets a requirement for smoothness, the second set of subchannels including some or all of the plurality of subchannels, the first set of subchannels being different from the second set of subchannels.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the second frame is a very high throughput compressed beamforming frame or a channel quality indication (channel quality indicator, CQI) frame.

The second indication information may be carried by a field in a very high throughput compressed beamforming frame or a channel quality indication CQI frame, for example.

In addition, the scheme of the application can be compatible with the existing protocol and has better expansibility.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first frame is a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU frame or a Null Data Packet Announcement (NDPA) frame.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementation manners of the first aspect, the first frame further includes a first field, where the first field is used to indicate whether the first indication information is carried in the first frame.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the second frame further includes a second field, where the second field is used to indicate whether the second indication information is carried in the second frame.

In a second aspect, a method of communication is provided, where the method may be performed by a second device, or may be performed by a component (e.g., a chip, a circuit, a module, etc.) configured in the second device, and the application is not limited.

The method comprises the following steps: receiving a first frame from a first device, the first frame including first indication information indicating whether a first channel meets a smoothness requirement, the first channel including a plurality of sub-channels for communication between the first device and a second device; a second frame is generated from the first frame.

Based on the above scheme, the first frame generated by the first device includes the first indication information, where the first indication information may be used to indicate whether a channel (first channel) between the sending end and the receiving end meets a requirement of smoothness or correlation, so that the receiving end may perform channel smoothing processing when the first channel meets the requirement of smoothness or correlation, and improve demodulation performance of the receiving end.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first indication information is further used to indicate whether a subchannel in a first subchannel set satisfies a requirement of smoothness, where the first subchannel set includes some or all of the subchannels in the plurality of subchannels.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, whether a portion or all of the subchannels in the plurality of subchannels meet the requirement for smoothness is whether a first matrix or a second matrix corresponding to the portion or all of the subchannels meets the requirement for smoothness, where the first matrix is a beamforming feedback matrix, and the second matrix is a beamforming steering matrix, or the second matrix is obtained according to a channel matrix and a beamforming steering matrix.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the second frame is sent to the first device, where the second frame includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate whether the first matrix or the second matrix meets a requirement of smoothness.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the second frame is sent to the first device, the second frame includes third indication information, the third indication information is used to indicate whether a subchannel in a second subchannel set meets a requirement of smoothness, the second subchannel set includes some or all subchannels in the plurality of subchannels, and the first subchannel set is different from the second subchannel set.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the second frame is a very high throughput compressed beamforming frame or a channel quality indication CQI frame.

The embodiment of the application can multiplex the existing indication domain, realize the indication of whether the first channel meets the smoothness requirement under the condition of not introducing a new indication domain, and is beneficial to saving resources.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame is a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU frame or a null data packet notification NDPA frame.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame further includes a first field, where the first field is used to indicate whether the first indication information is carried in the first frame.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the second frame further includes a second field, where the second field is used to indicate whether the second indication information is carried in the second frame.

In a third aspect, a communication device is provided for performing the method provided in the first aspect above. In particular, the communication device may comprise means and/or modules, such as a processing unit and/or a communication unit, for performing the method of the first aspect or any of the above-mentioned implementations of the first aspect.

In one implementation, the communication apparatus is a sender device (first device). When the communication apparatus is a transmitting end device, the communication unit may be a transceiver, or an input/output interface; the processing unit may be at least one processor. Alternatively, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Alternatively, the input/output interface may be an input/output circuit.

In another implementation, the communication device is a chip, a system-on-chip, or a circuit in the sender device. When the communication device is a chip, a chip system or a circuit in the transmitting end device, the communication unit may be an input/output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or a related circuit on the chip, the chip system or the circuit; the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit or logic circuit, etc.

In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided for performing the method provided in the second aspect. In particular, the communication device may comprise means and/or modules, such as a processing unit and/or a communication unit, for performing the method provided by the second aspect or any of the implementations of the second aspect.

In one implementation, the communication apparatus is a receiving end device (second device). When the communication apparatus is a receiving end device, the communication unit may be a transceiver, or an input/output interface; the processing unit may be at least one processor. Alternatively, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Alternatively, the input/output interface may be an input/output circuit.

In another implementation, the communication means is a chip, a system-on-chip or a circuit in the receiving end device. When the communication device is a chip, a chip system or a circuit in the terminal device, the communication unit may be an input/output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or a related circuit on the chip, the chip system or the circuit, etc.; the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit or logic circuit, etc.

In a fifth aspect, a communications apparatus is provided comprising a processor, optionally further comprising a memory for controlling a transceiver to transceive signals, the memory for storing a computer program, the processor for calling and running the computer program from the memory, such that the transmitting apparatus performs the method of the first aspect or any of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

Optionally, the processor is one or more, and the memory is one or more.

Alternatively, the memory may be integrated with the processor or the memory may be separate from the processor.

Optionally, the transmitting device further comprises a transceiver, which may be in particular a transmitter (transmitter) and a receiver (receiver).

In a sixth aspect, a communications apparatus is provided, comprising a processor, optionally further comprising a memory, the processor for controlling a transceiver to transceive signals, the memory for storing a computer program, the processor for calling and running the computer program from the memory, such that the receiving device performs the method of the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

Optionally, the processor is one or more, and the memory is one or more.

Optionally, the receiving device further comprises a transceiver, which may be in particular a transmitter (transmitter) and a receiver (receiver).

In a seventh aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising: a transmitting device for performing the method of the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect; and a receiving device for performing the method of the second aspect or any of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

In an eighth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, the computer readable storage medium storing a computer program or code which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect or the method of the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

In a ninth aspect, a chip is provided, comprising at least one processor coupled to a memory for storing a computer program, the processor being adapted to invoke and run the computer program from the memory, to cause a transmitting device, in which the chip system is installed, to perform the method of the first aspect or any of the possible implementations of the first aspect, and to cause a receiving device, in which the chip system is installed, to perform the method of the second aspect or any of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

The chip may include an input circuit or interface for transmitting information or data, and an output circuit or interface for receiving information or data, among other things.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising: computer program code which, when run by a transmitting device, performs the method of the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect; and performing the method of the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect when the computer program code is run by the receiving device.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system suitable for use in embodiments of the present application.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a method 200 for information indication provided by an embodiment of the application

Fig. 3 shows a schematic format of a user information field in an NDPA frame.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic format of a user information field in another NDPA frame.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic format of a user information field in another NDPA frame.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic format of an EHT MIMO Control field.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical scheme of the application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application can be suitable for a wireless local area network (wireless local area network, WLAN) scene, for example, can support IEEE 802.11 related standards, such as 802.11a/b/g standards, 802.11n standards, 802.11ac standards, 802.11ax standards, IEEE 802.11ax next generation Wi-Fi protocols, such as 802.11be, wi-Fi 7, extremely high throughput (extremely high throughput, EHT), 802.11ad, 802.11ay or 802.11bf, further such as 802.11be next generation, wi-Fi 8 and the like, can also be applied to wireless personal area network systems based on Ultra Wide Band (UWB), such as 802.15 series standards, and can also be applied to sensing (sensing) systems, such as 802.11bf series standards. Among them, the 802.11n standard is called High Throughput (HT), the 802.11ac standard is called very high throughput (very high throughput, VHT), the 802.11ax standard is called high efficiency (HIGH EFFICIENT, HE), and the 802.11be standard is called ultra high throughput (extremely high throughput, EHT).

Although embodiments of the present application are described primarily with respect to deploying WLAN networks, and in particular networks employing the IEEE 802.11 system standard, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that aspects of embodiments of the present application may be extended to other networks employing various standards or protocols, such as, for example, high performance wireless local area networks (high performance radio local area network, HIPERLAN), wireless wide area networks (WIRELESS WIDE AREA networks, WWAN), wireless personal area networks (wireless personal area network, WPAN), or other now known or later developed networks. Accordingly, the various aspects provided by embodiments of the present application may be applicable to any suitable wireless network, regardless of the coverage area and wireless access protocol used.

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can also be applied to various communication systems, such as: WLAN communication systems, wireless fidelity (WIRELESS FIDELITY, wi-Fi) systems, long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (frequency division duplex, FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (time division duplex, TDD), universal mobile telecommunication systems (universal mobile telecommunication system, UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (worldwide interoperability for microwave access, wiMAX) communication systems, fifth generation (5 ^th generation, 5G) systems or new wireless (NR), future sixth generation (6 ^th generation, 6G) systems, internet of things (internet of things, ioT) networks or internet of vehicles (V2X), etc.

The above-mentioned communication system to which the present application is applied is merely illustrative, and the communication system to which the present application is applied is not limited thereto, and is generally described herein, and will not be described in detail.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario to which the embodiment of the present application is applicable. As shown in fig. 1, the communication method provided by the present application is suitable for data communication between Stations (STAs), where a station may be an Access Point (AP) station, or a non-AP station (none access point station, non-AP STA) that is a non-access point, which are abbreviated as AP and non-AP stations, respectively. In particular, the scheme of the present application is applicable to data communications between an AP and one or more non-AP stations (e.g., data communications between AP1 and non-AP STA1, non-AP STA 2), also to data communications between an AP and an AP (e.g., data communications between AP1 and AP 2), and to data communications between a non-AP STA and a non-AP STA (e.g., data communications between non-AP STA2 and non-AP STA 3).

The access point may be an access point of a terminal (for example, a mobile phone) entering a wired (or wireless) network, and is mainly deployed in a home, a building and a park, where a typical coverage radius is several tens meters to hundreds meters, and of course, may also be deployed outdoors. The access point is equivalent to a bridge connecting a wired network and a wireless network, and is mainly used for connecting all wireless network clients together and then connecting the wireless network into an Ethernet.

Specifically, the access point may be a terminal with a Wi-Fi chip or a network device, where the network device may be a server, a router, a switch, a bridge, a computer, a mobile phone, a relay station, a vehicle device, a wearable device, a network device in a 5G network, a network device in a future 6G network or a network device in a public land mobile network (public land mobile network, PLMN), and the embodiment of the present application is not limited. The access point may be a device supporting Wi-Fi systems. For example, the access point may also support one or more standards of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family, such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, etc.

The non-AP station may be a wireless communication chip, a wireless sensor, a wireless communication terminal, or the like, and may also be referred to as a User Equipment (UE), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user equipment. The non-AP station may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (session initiation protocol, SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (wireless local loop, WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, an internet of things device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network, a terminal device in a future 6G network or a terminal device in a PLMN, etc., as the embodiments of the application are not limited in this regard. The non-AP stations may be devices that support WLAN standards. For example, a non-AP station may support one or more standards of the IEEE 802.11 family, such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, etc.

For example, the non-AP sites may be mobile phones, tablet computers, set-top boxes, smart televisions, smart wearable devices, in-vehicle communication devices, computers, internet of things (internet of things, ioT) nodes, sensors, smart homes, such as smart cameras, smart remote controls, smart water meter meters, and sensors in smart cities, and the like.

The AP or non-AP station may include a transmitter, a receiver, a memory, and a processor, where the transmitter and the receiver are respectively used for transmitting and receiving a packet structure, the memory is used for storing signaling information, storing preset values agreed in advance, and the processor is used for parsing the signaling information, processing related data, and the like.

The wireless communication system provided by the embodiment of the application may be a WLAN or a cellular network, and the method may be implemented by a communication device in the wireless communication system or a chip or a processor in the communication device, where the communication device may be a wireless communication device supporting parallel transmission of multiple links, for example, referred to as a multi-link device (multi-LINK DEVICE) or a multi-band device (multi-band device). A multi-link device has higher transmission efficiency and higher throughput than a device that supports only a single link transmission. The multilink device includes one or more affiliated stations STA (affiliated STA), which are logical stations that can operate on a link. The station to which the station belongs may be an AP or a non-AP STA. The multilink device affiliated with the station being an AP may be referred to as a multilink AP or a multilink AP device or an AP multilink device (AP multi-LINK DEVICE), and the multilink device affiliated with the station being a non-AP STA may be referred to as a multilink STA or a multilink STA device or an STA multilink device (STA multi-LINK DEVICE).

In the wireless communication system provided by the embodiment of the application, the communication equipment can send signals in a beam forming (beamforming) mode. The beamformed channels are discontinuous, which makes the beamforming of the beamformer (Beamformer) (e.g., the AP site or the non-AP site described above) incompatible with the channel smoothing process of the beamformee (Beamformee). And in the low signal-to-noise ratio (or medium signal-to-noise ratio) area, the channel smoothing processing can be adopted to improve the packet error rate (packet error rate, PER) performance by 1 to2 dB. However, in the case that Beamformer employs the smoothing beamforming technique, beamformee may employ the channel smoothing technique to improve the receiving performance, that is, beamformer employs the smoothing beamforming technique to solve the problem that beamforming is not compatible with the channel smoothing process.

According to the existing Wi-Fi protocol Beamformer indicates to Beamformee whether the transmitted data packet is beamformed or whether the channel smoothing process should be performed or not Beamformee. Taking the 802.11be protocol as an example:

(1) The Common information field (Common field) in the EHT sounding (null) null packet (null DATA PACKET, NDP) frame includes Beamformed field (B13). The Beamformed field being set to 1, indicating that a beamforming steering matrix (beamforming steering matrix) is applied to the EHT modulation field; otherwise, set to 0. Illustratively, beamformer may send the EHT sounding NDP frame to Beamformee during a channel sounding phase.

(2) The Beamformed field of the very high throughput-signaling EHT-SIG field in the EHT sounding NDP frame set to 1 indicates that Beamformee should not perform channel smoothing when generating the compressed beamforming feedback report.

(3) The EHT-SIG in the extremely high throughput multi-user physical layer protocol data unit format (extreme high throughput multiple user PHYSICAL LAYER protocol data unit, EHT MU PPDU) includes a Beamformed field (B20). If the EHT MU PPDU is issued to a single user and the user information STA-ID field in the EHT MU PPDU is not equal to 2046, then Beamformed field set to 1 may represent transmit beamforming. Or if a beamforming steering matrix (beamforming steering matrix) is applied to the waveform in the non-MU-MIMO allocation, beamformed field is set to 1; otherwise, set to 0.

However, if the smooth beamforming technique is adopted by Beamformer, in the existing Wi-Fi protocol, it is not indicated whether the smooth beamforming technique is adopted by Beamformer, which may result in a demodulation performance loss of Beamformee.

The technical scheme provided by the application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiment of the application can be applied to a plurality of different scenes, including the scene shown in fig. 1, but is not limited to the scene.

Fig. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a method 200 for information indication provided by an embodiment of the present application.

S210, the first device generates a first frame including first indication information.

Wherein the first indication information is used to indicate whether a first channel meets a requirement of smoothness or correlation, the first channel including a plurality of sub-channels (or sub-carriers) for communication between the first device and a second device. It can also be said that the first indication information is used to indicate whether the first channel needs to meet the requirements of smoothness or correlation. Alternatively, smoothness may be understood as continuity in embodiments of the present application.

Illustratively, if the first device communicates with the second device using a smooth beamforming technique, the first channel satisfies a smoothness or correlation requirement. In other words, the smoothing beamforming technique may be such that the first channel meets the requirements of smoothness or correlation.

Optionally, the first indication information may be further used to indicate whether a subchannel in a first subchannel set, which includes a part of subchannels in the plurality of subchannels, meets a requirement of smoothness or correlation.

It should be understood that in the present application, whether a subchannel (e.g., all or part of the subchannels in the plurality of subchannels) meets the smoothness or correlation requirement may be understood as whether a first matrix or a second matrix corresponding to the subchannel meets the smoothness requirement, where the first matrix is a beamforming feedback matrix (beamforming feedback matrix), the second matrix is or a beamforming steering matrix (beamforming steering matrix), or the second matrix is obtained by multiplying a channel matrix with a beamforming steering matrix, where the second matrix may also be referred to as a channel weighted beamforming steering matrix.

The method for measuring the smoothness of the matrix (including the first matrix and the second matrix) can refer to the existing related description, for example, whether the matrix meets the requirement of smoothness can be determined by calculating the related values of adjacent columns of the matrix, and if the related values of the adjacent columns in the matrix exceed a certain threshold, the adjacent columns are considered to be related or smooth. If all columns in the matrix are homogeneous, the matrix may be considered smooth.

Or in the present application, when the frequencies of the channels corresponding to different subcarriers are related, the channels are said to be smooth or have smoothness, that is, the frequency response of the channels has no discontinuity or abrupt change.

In other words, whether the first channel meets the requirement of smoothness or correlation may be indicated by the first indication information indicating whether the beamforming feedback matrix corresponding to the first channel or the first channel set needs to meet the requirement of smoothness.

Or the first indication information may indicate whether the first channel or the second matrix corresponding to the first channel set needs to meet the requirement of smoothness, so as to indicate whether the first channel meets the requirement of smoothness or relativity.

As an implementation manner, the physical layer protocol data unit PPDU frame sent by the first device may be configured to carry the first indication information, that is, the first frame is a PPDU frame.

In one example, field #1 in the PPDU may be set to carry the first indication information. Specifically, field #1 in the PPDU is set to 1, which indicates that the first channel needs to meet the requirements of smoothness or correlation; setting the field #1 to 0 indicates that the first channel need not meet the requirements of smoothness or correlation.

Taking the 802.11be protocol as an example, the field #1 in the PPDU may be Beamformed (B13) field included in the common information field in the EHT sounding NDP frame. The Beamformed field may be set to 0, indicating that no beam steering matrix is applied to the EHT modulation field, or that a smooth beam steering matrix is applied to the EHT modulation field, indicating that the first channel meets the requirements for smoothness or correlation. The EHT modulation field may refer to the existing correlation description.

Or the field #1 in the PPDU may be Beamformed field (B20) included in the EHT-SIG in the EHT MU PPDU. If the EHT MU PPDU is addressed to a single user and the user information STA-ID field in the EHT MU PPDU is not equal to 2046, then the Beamformed field may be set to 0, indicating that no beam steering matrix is applied to the EHT modulation field or a smooth beam steering matrix is applied to the EHT modulation field, indicating that the first channel meets the requirements for smoothness or correlation.

In another example, a field may also be extended in the signaling SIG field, e.g., an extended smooth beamforming (Smooth Beamformed) field, for carrying the first indication information, the Smooth Beamformed may occupy one bit.

The one bit may be one bit in a reserved field in the SIG field, e.g., B14 of HE-SIG-A2, B15 of a User field (User field) of the EHT-SIG in the non-MU MIMO allocation; or the one bit may be one bit in the ignore (DISREGARD) field in the SIG field, e.g., B14 of HE-SIG-A2, B15 of the User field of the EHT-SIG in the non-MU MIMO allocation.

As another implementation, the first frame is a null packet Announcement (NDPA) frame.

Illustratively, the NDPA frame includes a user information field, and a first bitmap field of the user information field carries the first indication information, where the first bitmap field may be an extension field of the user information field.

Specifically, the first bitmap field may include N bytes, where the value of N is related to a first channel bandwidth and a second channel bandwidth, where the first channel bandwidth is a channel bandwidth of the first channel, the second channel bandwidth is a resolution bandwidth represented by each bit in the first bitmap, and the channel width of a channel refers to a frequency difference between a start frequency and a stop frequency of the channel. Wherein N is a positive integer.

Illustratively, setting bit #1 in the first bitmap field to 1 indicates that a sub-channel or Resource Unit (RU) corresponding to the bit #1 needs to meet the requirement of smoothness or correlation; setting bit #1 in the first bitmap field to 0 indicates that the subchannel or RU corresponding to bit #1 does not need to meet the requirements of smoothness or correlation.

Optionally, the first frame may further include an indication field indicating whether the first indication information exists in the first frame.

For example, the indication field is set to 1, which indicates that the first frame has the first indication information; the indication field is set to 0, indicating that the first indication information is not present in the first frame.

S220, the first device sends the first frame to the second device.

Illustratively, the first device may be in communication with a plurality of receiving end devices, and the second device is any of the plurality of receiving end devices. The first device may send the first frame to the second device in unicast or broadcast form.

Based on the above scheme, the first frame generated by the transmitting end (first device) includes the first indication information, where the first indication information may be used to indicate whether the channel (first channel) between the transmitting end and the receiving end meets the smoothness or correlation requirement, so that the receiving end may perform channel smoothing processing when the first channel meets the smoothness or correlation requirement, and improve demodulation performance of the receiving end.

And S230, the second device determines whether the first channel meets the requirement of smoothness according to the first indication information.

Optionally, the method further includes S240, the second device transmits a second frame to the first device, the second frame including second indication information.

Accordingly, the first device receives the second frame from the second device.

Wherein the second indication information is used for indicating whether the first matrix or the second matrix meets the smoothness requirement, and the description of the first matrix and the second matrix is referred to in S210.

In other words, when the second device receives the first indication information from the first device, the second device feeds back to the first device whether the first matrix or the second matrix corresponding to the first channel (or the first sub-channel set) meets the requirement of smoothness.

Specifically, the second frame is a very high throughput compressed beamforming (EHT compressed beamforming) frame or a channel quality indication (channel quality indicator, CQI) frame.

Illustratively, field #1 in the second frame may be set to carry the first indication information. Specifically, the field #1 in the second frame is set to 1, which indicates that the first matrix or the second matrix corresponding to the first channel (or the first subchannel set) meets the requirement of smoothness; setting the field #1 to 0 indicates that the first matrix or the second matrix corresponding to the first channel (or the first set of sub-channels) does not satisfy the smoothness requirement.

Optionally, if the first matrix or the second matrix corresponding to the first channel (or the first sub-channel set) does not meet the smoothness requirement, the second frame may be further configured to carry third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the first matrix or the second matrix corresponding to the sub-channel in the second sub-channel set meets the smoothness or relevance requirement. Wherein the second set of subchannels includes some or all of the plurality of subchannels, the first set of subchannels being different from the second set of subchannels. Optionally, the first set of subchannels and the second set of subchannels may be the same, that is, the second device returns indication information indicating whether a first matrix or a second matrix corresponding to the second set of subchannels meets the smoothness requirement, and the first set of subchannels is the same as the second set of subchannels.

The frame formats of different frames carrying the first, second, and third indication information are described below.

Fig. 3 shows a format diagram of a user information (STA Info) field in an NDPA frame (an example of a first frame). As shown in fig. 3, the NDPA frame includes an association identifier (association identifier, AID) AID11 field (B0 to B10), a partial bandwidth information (Patial BW Info) field (B11 to B19), a Reserved (Reserved) field (B20 or B29 to B31), a column number (number of columns, nc) Index field (B21 to B24) of channel information required to be acquired by each AP, a Feedback type and a number of packet subcarriers (Feedback TYPE AND NG) (B25 to B26), disambiguation (B27) and a Codebook Size (B28).

In one example, the NDPA frame shown in fig. 3 is extended by N bytes to carry indication information #1 (an example of first indication information), where N is a positive integer, and the indication information #1 is used to indicate whether the sub-channels in the sub-channel set #1 (an example of the first sub-channel set) meet the requirement of smoothness or correlation.

Specifically, the indication information #1 is used for indicating whether the beamforming steering matrix corresponding to the subchannel set #1 meets the requirement of smoothness.

For example, an extension field #1 is used to carry the indication information #1 in the NDPA frame, where the field #1 occupies the B32 domain to B (4+n) x 8-1 domain of the NDPA frame, and represents the product. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the format of an NDPA frame carrying the field #1 according to the present application. Wherein the smooth beamforming bitmap (Smooth Beamforming Bitmap) field represents this field #1.

The Smooth Beamforming Bitmap field indicates whether a subchannel or RU in subchannel set #1, from the lowest frequency to the highest frequency, of each resolution bandwidth, which may refer to the channel bandwidth of one subchannel, meets the requirements of smoothness or correlation. If the smoothness or correlation requirement is met, the corresponding bit in the Smooth Beamforming Bitmap field is set to 1. For example, if the channel bandwidth of the first channel is 160MHz, the resolution bandwidth is 20MHz, and the Smooth Beamforming Bitmap field is set to 11111111, it indicates that the beamforming steering matrix corresponding to the subchannel set #1 meets the requirement of smoothness.

In one possible implementation, the Resolution of the Smooth Beamforming Bitmap field is preset to be consistent with the Resolution (Resolution) field in the Partial BW Info field (as shown in fig. 3).

Taking the 802.11be protocol as an example, when Resolution is set to 0, the Resolution is shown to be 20MHz; when Resolution is set to 1, it means that the Resolution is 40MHz, for example, when the channel bandwidth of the first channel is 320MHz, the Resolution may be set to 40MHz.

Under the condition that the resolution of the Smooth Beamforming Bitmap field is 20MHz, if the channel bandwidth of the first channel does not exceed 160MHz, the value of N can be 1, namely the number of bytes occupied by the Smooth Beamforming Bitmap field is 1; if the channel bandwidth of the first channel exceeds 160MHz, then the Smooth Beamforming Bitmap field is extended by another 1 byte every 160MHz of channel bandwidth is increased.

Under the condition that the resolution of Smooth Beamforming Bitmap fields is 40MHz, the channel bandwidth of the first channel is 320MHz, and the value of N can be 1.

That is, in this implementation, the Smooth Beamforming Bitmap field occupies the same number of bytes as the Feedback bitmap (feed back bitmap) field (shown in fig. 3) in the Partial BW Info field.

In another possible implementation, the Resolution of the Smooth Beamforming Bitmap field may be preset to be inconsistent with the Resolution (Resolution) field in the Partial BW Info field (as shown in fig. 3), where the inconsistency may be: the Resolution indicated by the Resolution (Resolution) field in the Partial BW Info field is set to be M times the Resolution of the Smooth Beamforming Bitmap field, M being a positive integer.

For example, when the channel bandwidth of the first channel is 320MHz, the Resolution may be set to 1, that is, the Resolution is 40MHz, and at this time, the Resolution indicated by the Resolution field in the Partial BW Info field may be preset to be 2 times the Resolution of the Smooth Beamforming Bitmap field.

In this implementation, consecutive M bits of Smooth Beamforming Bitmap fields correspond to 1 bit of the Feedback bitmap field. For example, in the case where the channel bandwidth of the first channel is 320mhz and resolution is 1, the Feedback bitmap field may be denoted as 11111111,Smooth Beamforming Bitmap fields and 11111111 11111111. Wherein the first bit and the second bit of Smooth Beamforming Bitmap field correspond to the first bit in the Feedback bitmap field. Illustratively, when two consecutive bits in the Smooth Beamforming Bitmap field are both 1, it indicates that the subchannel corresponding to the first bit in the Feedback bitmap field meets the requirements of smoothness or correlation.

That is, in this implementation, smooth Beamforming Bitmap field occupies M times the number of bytes occupied by the feed back bitmap in the Partial BW Info field.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 4, a field #2 (an example of the first field) may also be carried in the NDPA frame, where the field #2 is used to indicate whether the field #1 exists.

Illustratively, a value of 1 in either the B20 field or any of the B29 to B31 fields may be set, indicating that the NDPA frame includes the field #1.

For example, any bit (bit) in the Reserved field may be changed to the smooth beamforming bitmap presentation (Smooth Beamforming Bitmap Present) field (field # 2).

When Smooth Beamforming Bitmap Present field is set to 1, indicating that Smooth Beamforming Bitmap field (field # 1) is included in the NDPA frame;

When Smooth Feedback Bitmap Present subfield is set to 0, the Smooth Beamforming Bitmap field is indicated not to be included in the NDPA frame.

It should be understood that the names of the field #1 and the field #2 are only examples, and do not limit the present application. The field #1, field #2 may also be other names.

Fig. 5 shows a format diagram of an STA Info field in another NDPA frame. As shown in fig. 5, the NDPA frame includes a field #3, where the field #3 is used to carry the first indication information.

In one example, the NDPA frame shown in fig. 5 is extended by N bytes to carry indication information #2 (an example of the first indication information), where N is a positive integer, and the indication information #2 is used to indicate whether the sub-channel in the sub-channel set #1 (an example of the first sub-channel set) meets the requirement of smoothness or correlation. Specifically, the indication information #2 is used to indicate whether the beamforming feedback matrix corresponding to the subchannel set #1 meets the requirement of smoothness or correlation.

For example, in the NDPA frame, an extension field #3 is used to carry the indication information #2, where the field #3 occupies a B32 domain to B (4+n) x 8-1 domain of the NDPA frame, and represents a product. As shown in fig. 5, wherein the smooth feedback bitmap (Smooth Feedback Bitmap) field represents this field #3.

The Smooth Feedback Bitmap field indicates whether a subchannel or RU in the subchannel set #1, from the lowest frequency to the highest frequency, of each resolution bandwidth, meets the requirements of smoothness or correlation. If the smoothness or correlation requirement is met, the corresponding bit in the Smooth Feedback Bitmap field is set to 1.

For example, if the channel bandwidth of the first channel is 160MHz and the resolution bandwidth is 20MHz, the Smooth Feedback Bitmap field may be set to 11111111, which indicates that the beamforming feedback matrix corresponding to the subchannel set #1 meets the requirement of smoothness.

In one possible implementation, the Resolution of the Smooth Feedback Bitmap field is preset to be consistent with the Resolution field in the Partial BW Info field.

Under the condition that the resolution of the Smooth Feedback Bitmap field is 20MHz, if the channel bandwidth of the first channel does not exceed 160MHz, the value of N can be 1, namely the number of bytes occupied by the Smooth Feedback Bitmap field is 1; if the channel bandwidth of the first channel exceeds 160MHz, then the Smooth Feedback Bitmap field is extended by another 1 byte every 160MHz of channel bandwidth is increased.

Under the condition that the resolution of Smooth Feedback Bitmap fields is 40MHz, the channel bandwidth of the first channel is 320MHz, and the value of N can be 1.

That is, in this implementation, the Smooth Feedback Bitmap field occupies the same number of bytes as the Feedback bitmap (feed back bitmap) field (shown in fig. 3) in the Partial BW Info field.

In another possible implementation, the Resolution of the Smooth Feedback Bitmap field may be preset to be inconsistent with the Resolution (Resolution) field in the Partial BW Info field (as shown in fig. 3), where the inconsistency may be: the Resolution (Resolution) field in the Partial BW Info field indicates a Resolution that is M times the Resolution of the Smooth Feedback Bitmap field, M being a positive integer.

For example, when the channel bandwidth of the first channel is 320MHz, the Resolution may be set to 1, that is, the Resolution is 40MHz, and at this time, the Resolution indicated by the Resolution field in the Partial BW Info field may be preset to be 2 times the Resolution of the Smooth Feedback Bitmap field.

In this implementation, consecutive M bits of Smooth Feedback Bitmap fields correspond to 1 bit of the Feedback bitmap field. For example, in the case where the channel bandwidth of the first channel is 320mhz and resolution is 1, the Feedback bitmap field may be represented as 11111111,Smooth Feedback Bitmap fields and may be represented as 1111111111111111. Wherein the first bit and the second bit of Smooth Feedback Bitmap field correspond to the first bit in the Feedback bitmap field. Illustratively, when two consecutive bits in the Smooth Feedback Bitmap field are both 1, it indicates that the subchannel corresponding to the first bit in the Feedback bitmap field meets the requirements of smoothness or correlation.

That is, in this implementation, smooth Feedback Bitmap field occupies M times the number of bytes occupied by the feed back bitmap in the Partial BW Info field.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 5, a field #4 (an example of the first field) may also be carried in the NDPA frame, where the field #4 is used to indicate whether the field #3 exists. The setting of this field #4 is similar to that of field #2, and will not be described again.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic format of an EHT MIMO Control field in EHT Compressed Beamforming or CQI frames. As shown in fig. 6, the EHT MIMO Control field includes an Nc Index field (B0 domain to B3 domain), an Nr Index field (B4 domain to B7 domain), a BW field (B8 domain to B10 domain), a Grouping field (B11 domain), a Feedback Type field (B12 domain to B13 domain), a Reserved (Reserved) field (B14 domain to B16 domain or B37 domain to B39 domain), REMAINING FEEDBACK SEGMENT (B20 domain), a partial bandwidth (Patial BW Info) field (B21 domain to B29 domain), sounding Dialog Token Number field (B30 domain to B35 domain), codebook Information (B36 domain).

In one example, any bit in a reserved field in the EHT MIMO Control field shown in fig. 6 is set to carry indication information #3 (an example of second indication information), where the indication information #3 is used to indicate whether the beamforming feedback matrix or matrix #1 (an example of second matrix) corresponding to the subchannel set #1 meets the requirement of smoothness. The matrix #1 is a beamforming steering matrix, or the matrix #1 is obtained by multiplying a channel matrix and the beamforming steering matrix.

Specifically, the arbitrary bit is a bit occupied by a smooth feedback bitmap acknowledgement (Smooth Feedback Bitmap Confirm) field. When Smooth Feedback Bitmap Confirm field is set to 1, it indicates that the beamforming feedback matrix or matrix #1 corresponding to the subchannel set #1 meets the requirement of smoothness; when the Smooth Feedback Bitmap Confirm field is set to 0, it indicates that the beamforming feedback matrix or matrix #1 corresponding to the subchannel set #1 does not meet the requirement of smoothness.

If Beamformee carries field #1 in STA Info field in NDPA frame received last time from Beamformer and matrix #1 corresponding to subchannel set #1 meets the requirement of smoothness, setting Smooth Feedback Bitmap Confirm to 1; if the STA Info field in the NDPA frame carries field #1 and matrix #1 corresponding to subchannel set #1 does not meet the smoothness requirement, then Smooth Feedback Bitmap Confirm is set to 0.

If Beamformee carries a field #3 in the STA Info field in the NDPA frame from Beamformer received last time and the beamforming feedback matrix corresponding to the subchannel set #1 meets the requirement of smoothness, setting the Smooth Feedback Bitmap Confirm to 1; if the STA Info field in the NDPA frame carries field #3 and the beamforming feedback matrix corresponding to subchannel set #1 does not meet the smoothness requirement, then Smooth Feedback Bitmap Confirm is set to 0.

Further, another bit in the reserved field in the EHT MIMO Control field may be further set to carry indication information #4, where the indication information #4 is used to indicate whether the EHT MIMO Control field includes a smooth feedback bitmap (Smooth Feedback Bitmap) field, and the Smooth Feedback Bitmap is used to indicate that the beamforming feedback matrix or matrix #1 corresponding to the subchannel set #2 (an example of the second subchannel set) meets the requirement of smoothness. Wherein the subchannel set #2 is different from the subchannel set # 2.

Specifically, the other bit is a bit occupied by the smooth feedback bitmap presentation (Smooth Feedback Bitmap Present) field. Setting Smooth Feedback Bitmap Present field to 1 indicates that the EHT MIMO Control field includes Smooth Feedback Bitmap field; when Smooth Feedback Bitmap Present field is set to 0, it means that the EHT MIMO Control field does not include Smooth Feedback Bitmap field.

For example, when Smooth Feedback Bitmap Confirm is set to 0, the Smooth Feedback Bitmap Present field may be set to 1, that is, the beamforming feedback matrix or matrix #1 corresponding to the subchannel set #1 does not satisfy the requirement of smoothness, and the beamforming feedback matrix or matrix #1 corresponding to the subchannel set #2 satisfies the requirement of smoothness, where the subchannel set #2 is different from the subchannel set # 1.

The Smooth Feedback Bitmap field is similar to Smooth Feedback Bitmap field of the STA Info field in the NDPA frame in fig. 5, and will not be described again.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the application. As shown in fig. 7, the apparatus 1000 may include a transceiving unit 1010 and a processing unit 1020. The transceiver unit 1010 may communicate with the outside, and the processing unit 1020 is used for data processing. The transceiver unit 1010 may also be referred to as a communication interface or transceiver unit.

In one possible design, the apparatus 1000 may implement a procedure performed by a first device corresponding to the above method embodiment, where the processing unit 1020 is configured to perform the operations related to the processing of the first device in the above method embodiment, and the transceiver unit 1010 is configured to perform the operations related to the transceiver of the first device in the above method embodiment.

Illustratively, the processing unit 1020 is configured to generate a first frame, where the first frame includes first indication information, where the first indication information is configured to indicate whether a first channel meets a smoothness requirement, and the first channel includes a plurality of sub-channels for communication between the apparatus and a second device; the transceiver 1010 transmits the first frame to the second device.

Optionally, the first indication information is further used to indicate whether a subchannel in a first subchannel set meets a requirement of smoothness, where the first subchannel set includes some or all of the subchannels in the plurality of subchannels.

Optionally, whether the smoothness requirement is met by some or all of the plurality of sub-channels is whether a first matrix or a second matrix corresponding to the some or all of the sub-channels meets the smoothness requirement, where the first matrix is a beamforming feedback matrix, and the second matrix is a beamforming steering matrix, or the second matrix is obtained according to the channel matrix and the beamforming steering matrix.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 1010 is further configured to: a second frame is received from the second device, the second frame including second indication information indicating whether the first matrix or the second matrix meets a smoothness requirement.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 1010 is further configured to: a second frame from the second device is received, the second frame including third indication information indicating whether a subchannel in a second set of subchannels meets a requirement of smoothness, the second set of subchannels including some or all of the plurality of subchannels, the first set of subchannels being different from the second set of subchannels.

Illustratively, the second frame is a very high throughput compressed beamforming frame or a channel quality indication CQI frame.

Illustratively, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the first frame is a physical layer protocol data unit, PPDU, frame or a null data packet notification, NDPA, frame.

Optionally, the first frame further includes a first field, where the first field is used to indicate whether the first indication information is carried in the first frame.

Optionally, the second frame further includes a second field, where the second field is used to indicate whether the second indication information is carried in the second frame.

In yet another possible design, the apparatus 1000 may implement a procedure performed by the second device in the above method embodiment, where the transceiver unit 1010 is configured to perform the operations related to the transceiver of the second device in the above method embodiment, and the processing unit 1020 is configured to perform the operations related to the processing of the second device in the above method embodiment.

Illustratively, the transceiver 1010 is configured to receive a first frame from a first device, the first frame including first indication information for indicating whether a first channel meets a smoothness requirement, the first channel including a plurality of sub-channels for communication between the first device and a second device; the processing unit 1020 is configured to determine whether the first channel meets a smoothness requirement according to the first frame.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 1010 is further configured to: and transmitting a second frame to the first device, wherein the second frame comprises second indicating information for indicating whether the first matrix or the second matrix meets the requirement of smoothness.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 1010 is further configured to: and transmitting a second frame to the first device, wherein the second frame comprises third indication information, the third indication information is used for indicating whether the sub-channels in a second sub-channel set meet the requirement of smoothness, the second sub-channel set comprises part or all of the sub-channels in the plurality of sub-channels, and the first sub-channel set is different from the second sub-channel set.

The first frame is, illustratively, a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU frame or a null data packet announcement NDPA frame.

It should be understood that the apparatus 1000 herein is embodied in the form of functional units. The term "unit" herein may refer to an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (e.g., a shared, dedicated, or group processor, etc.) and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that support the described functionality. In an alternative example, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the apparatus 1000 may be specifically configured as the transmitting end in the foregoing embodiment, and may be used to execute a procedure corresponding to the transmitting end in the foregoing method embodiment, or the apparatus 1000 may be specifically configured as the receiving end in the foregoing embodiment, and may be used to execute a procedure corresponding to the receiving end in the foregoing method embodiment, so that repetition is avoided.

The apparatus 1000 has a function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the transmitting end in the above method, or the apparatus 1000 has a function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the receiving end in the above method. The functions may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software comprises one or more modules corresponding to the functions; for example, the transceiver unit may be replaced by a transceiver (e.g., a transmitting unit in the transceiver unit may be replaced by a transmitter, a receiving unit in the transceiver unit may be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as a processing unit, etc., may be replaced by a processor, to perform the transceiver operations and related processing operations in the various method embodiments, respectively.

The transceiver unit may be a transceiver circuit (for example, may include a receiving circuit and a transmitting circuit), and the processing unit may be a processing circuit. In the embodiment of the present application, the apparatus in fig. 5 may be the receiving end or the transmitting end in the foregoing embodiment, or may be a chip or a chip system, for example: system on chip (SoC). The transceiver unit may be an input/output circuit or a communication interface. The processing unit is an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit on the chip. And are not limited herein.

Fig. 6 shows a communication device 2000 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus 2000 includes a processor 2010 and a memory 2020. The memory 2020 is configured to store instructions, and the processor 2010 may call the instructions stored in the memory 2020 to execute a procedure corresponding to the transmitting end or the receiving end in the above method embodiment.

Specifically, in one possible implementation, the memory 2020 is used to store instructions, and the processor 2010 may call the instructions stored in the memory 2020 to execute a flow corresponding to the sender in the above method embodiment.

Specifically, in another possible implementation manner, the memory 2020 is used for storing instructions, and the processor 2010 may call the instructions stored in the memory 2020 to execute a procedure corresponding to the receiving end in the above method embodiment.

It should be understood that the apparatus 2000 may be specifically a transmitting end or a receiving end in the above embodiment, and may also be a chip or a chip system for the transmitting end or the receiving end. Specifically, the apparatus 2000 may be configured to execute a procedure corresponding to the transmitting end or the receiving end in the above method embodiment.

The memory 2020 may optionally include read only memory and random access memory and provide instructions and data to the processor. A portion of the memory may also include non-volatile random access memory. For example, the memory may also store information of the device type. The processor 2010 may be configured to execute instructions stored in a memory, and when the processor 2010 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 2010 is configured to execute the flow of the method embodiment corresponding to the transmitting end or the receiving end.

In implementation, the steps of the above method may be performed by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or by instructions in the form of software. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be embodied directly in a hardware processor for execution, or in a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor for execution. The software modules may be located in a random access memory, flash memory, read only memory, programmable read only memory, or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. as well known in the art. The storage medium is located in a memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and, in combination with its hardware, performs the steps of the above method. To avoid repetition, a detailed description is not provided herein.

It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capability. In implementation, the steps of the above method embodiments may be implemented by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or instructions in software form. The processor may be a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component. The processor in the embodiments of the present application may implement or execute the methods, steps and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be embodied directly in the execution of a hardware decoding processor, or in the execution of a combination of hardware and software modules in a decoding processor. The software modules may be located in a random access memory, flash memory, read only memory, programmable read only memory, or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. as well known in the art. The storage medium is located in a memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and, in combination with its hardware, performs the steps of the above method.

It will be appreciated that the memory in embodiments of the application may be volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The nonvolatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable programmable ROM (erasable PROM), an electrically erasable programmable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be random access memory (random access memory, RAM) which acts as external cache memory. By way of example, and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (STATIC RAM, SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DYNAMIC RAM, DRAM), synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (double DATA RATE SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ENHANCED SDRAM, ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SYNCHLINK DRAM, SLDRAM), and direct memory bus random access memory (direct rambus RAM, DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

Fig. 7 shows a communication apparatus 3000 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus 3000 includes a processing circuit 3010 and a transceiver circuit 3020. Wherein the processing circuit 3010 and the transceiver circuit 3020 communicate with each other via an internal connection path, the processing circuit 3010 is configured to execute instructions to control the transceiver circuit 3020 to transmit signals and/or receive signals.

Optionally, the apparatus 3000 may further include a storage medium 3030, where the storage medium 3030 communicates with the processing circuit 3010 and the transceiver circuit 3020 via an internal connection path. The storage medium 3030 is used to store instructions and the processing circuit 3010 may execute instructions stored in the storage medium 3030.

In a possible implementation manner, the apparatus 3000 is configured to implement a flow corresponding to the first device in the foregoing method embodiment.

In another possible implementation manner, the apparatus 3000 is configured to implement a procedure corresponding to the second device in the foregoing method embodiment.

According to a method provided by an embodiment of the present application, the present application also provides a computer program product, including: computer program code which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the application further provides a computer readable medium, wherein the computer readable medium stores a program code, and when the program code runs on a computer, the program code causes the computer to execute the method in the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

The application further provides a system comprising one or more stations and one or more access points.

The term "at least one of … …" or "at least one of … …" herein means all or any combination of the listed items, e.g., "at least one of A, B and C," may mean: there are six cases where A alone, B alone, C alone, both A and B, both B and C, and both A, B and C. The term "at least one" as used herein means one or more. "plurality" means two or more.

It should be understood that in embodiments of the present application, "B corresponding to a" means that B is associated with a from which B may be determined. It should also be understood that determining B from a does not mean determining B from a alone, but may also determine B from a and/or other information. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless expressly specified otherwise.

It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the first, second and various numbers are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. For example, different information is distinguished, etc.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, specific working procedures of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to corresponding procedures in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not repeated herein.

In the several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, e.g., the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and there may be additional divisions when actually implemented, e.g., multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or not performed. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, devices or units, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate units may or may not be physically separate, and units shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be embodied essentially or in a part contributing to the prior art or in a part of the technical solution, in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, comprising several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (random access memory, RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, or other various media capable of storing program codes.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the present application, and the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art will readily recognize that variations or substitutions are within the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of information indication, comprising:

The method comprises the steps that a first device generates a first frame, wherein the first frame comprises first indication information, the first indication information is used for indicating whether a first channel meets the requirement of smoothness, and the first channel comprises a plurality of sub-channels communicated between the first device and a second device;

the first device sends the first frame to the second device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first indication information is further used to indicate whether a subchannel in a first set of subchannels meets a smoothness requirement, the first set of subchannels including some or all of the plurality of subchannels.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein whether the smoothness requirement is met by some or all of the plurality of subchannels is whether a first matrix or a second matrix corresponding to the some or all of the subchannels meets the smoothness requirement, the first matrix being a beamforming feedback matrix, the second matrix being a beamforming steering matrix, or the second matrix being derived from a channel matrix and a beamforming steering matrix.

4. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that the method further comprises:

The first device receives a second frame from the second device, the second frame including second indication information indicating whether the first matrix or the second matrix meets a smoothness requirement.

5. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that the method further comprises:

The first device receives a second frame from the second device, the second frame including third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate whether a subchannel in a second set of subchannels meets a requirement for smoothness, the second set of subchannels including some or all of the plurality of subchannels, the first set of subchannels being different from the second set of subchannels.

6. The method of claim 4 or 5, wherein the second frame is a very high throughput compressed beamforming frame or a channel quality indication, CQI, frame.

7. The method of claim 5 or 6, wherein the second frame further comprises a second field, and the second field is used to indicate whether the third indication information is carried in the second frame.

8. The method according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first frame is a physical layer protocol data unit, PPDU, frame or a null data packet notification, NDPA, frame.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the first frame further comprises a first field, the first field being used to indicate whether the first indication information is carried in the first frame.

10. A method of information indication, comprising:

The second device receives a first frame from the first device, wherein the first frame comprises first indication information, the first indication information is used for indicating whether a first channel meets the requirement of smoothness, and the first channel comprises a plurality of sub-channels communicated between the first device and the second device;

The second device generates a second frame from the first frame.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first indication information is further used to indicate whether a subchannel in a first set of subchannels meets a smoothness requirement, the first set of subchannels including some or all of the plurality of subchannels.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein whether the smoothness requirement is met by some or all of the plurality of subchannels is whether a first matrix or a second matrix corresponding to the some or all of the subchannels meets the smoothness requirement, the first matrix being a beamforming feedback matrix, the second matrix being a beamforming steering matrix, or the second matrix being derived from a channel matrix and a beamforming steering matrix.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the method further comprises:

The second device sends the second frame to the first device, wherein the second frame comprises second indication information, and the second indication information is used for indicating whether the first matrix or the second matrix meets the requirement of smoothness.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the method further comprises:

The second device sends the second frame to the first device, the second frame includes third indication information, the third indication information is used for indicating whether a subchannel in a second subchannel set meets the requirement of smoothness, the second subchannel set includes part or all of subchannels in the plurality of subchannels, and the first subchannel set is different from the second subchannel set.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the second frame is a very high throughput compressed beamforming frame or a channel quality indication CQI frame.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the second frame further comprises a second field, the second field being used to indicate whether the third indication information is carried in the second frame.

17. The method according to any of claims 10 to 16, wherein the first frame is a physical layer protocol data unit, PPDU, frame or a null data packet notification, NDPA, frame.

18. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 17, wherein the first frame further comprises a first field, the first field being used to indicate whether the first indication information is carried in the first frame.

19. A communication device is characterized in that the device comprises a processing unit and a transceiver unit,

The processing unit is configured to generate a first frame, where the first frame includes first indication information, where the first indication information is configured to indicate whether a first channel meets a smoothness requirement, and the first channel includes a plurality of sub-channels that are communicated between the apparatus and a second device;

The transceiver unit transmits the first frame to the second device.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the first indication information is further for indicating whether a subchannel in a first set of subchannels meets a smoothness requirement, the first set of subchannels including some or all of the plurality of subchannels.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein whether the smoothness requirement is met by some or all of the plurality of subchannels is whether a first matrix or a second matrix corresponding to the some or all of the subchannels meets the smoothness requirement, the first matrix being a beamforming feedback matrix, the second matrix being a beamforming steering matrix, or the second matrix being derived from a channel matrix and a beamforming steering matrix.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to:

a second frame from the second device is received, the second frame including second indication information indicating whether the first matrix or the second matrix meets a smoothness requirement.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to:

Receiving a second frame from the second device, the second frame including third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate whether a subchannel in a second set of subchannels meets a requirement for smoothness, the second set of subchannels including some or all of the plurality of subchannels, the first set of subchannels being different from the second set of subchannels.

24. The apparatus according to claim 22 or 23, wherein the second frame is a very high throughput compressed beamforming frame or a channel quality indication, CQI, frame.

25. The apparatus according to claim 23 or 24, wherein the second frame further comprises a second field for indicating whether the second indication information is carried in the second frame.

26. The apparatus according to any of claims 19 to 25, wherein the first frame is a physical layer protocol data unit, PPDU, frame or a null data packet announcement, NDPA, frame.

27. The apparatus according to any one of claims 19 to 26, wherein the first frame further comprises a first field for indicating whether the first indication information is carried in the first frame.

28. A communication device is characterized in that the device comprises a processing unit and a transceiver unit,

The receiving and transmitting unit is configured to receive a first frame from a first device, where the first frame includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether a first channel meets a smoothness requirement, and the first channel includes a plurality of sub-channels that are communicated between the first device and a second device;

the processing unit is used for generating a second frame according to the first frame.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the first indication information is further for indicating whether a subchannel in a first set of subchannels meets a smoothness requirement, the first set of subchannels including some or all of the plurality of subchannels.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein whether the smoothness requirement is met by some or all of the plurality of subchannels is whether a first matrix or a second matrix corresponding to the some or all of the subchannels meets the smoothness requirement, the first matrix being a beamforming feedback matrix, the second matrix being a beamforming steering matrix, or the second matrix being derived from a channel matrix and a beamforming steering matrix.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to:

And sending the second frame to the first device, wherein the second frame comprises second indication information, and the second indication information is used for indicating whether the first matrix or the second matrix meets the requirement of smoothness.

32. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to:

33. The apparatus of claim 31 or 32, wherein the second frame is a very high throughput compressed beamforming frame or a channel quality indication, CQI, frame.

34. The apparatus of claim 32 or 33, wherein the second frame further comprises a second field, the second field being configured to indicate whether the third indication information is carried in the second frame.

35. The apparatus according to any of claims 28 to 34, wherein the first frame is a physical layer protocol data unit, PPDU, frame or a null data packet announcement, NDPA, frame.

36. The apparatus according to any one of claims 28 to 35, wherein the first frame further comprises a first field for indicating whether the first indication information is carried in the first frame.

37. A communication device, comprising:

a processor coupled to the memory;

the processor for executing a computer program or instructions stored in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 9 or to perform the method of any one of claims 10 to 18.

38. A computer readable storage medium storing a computer program comprising instructions for implementing the method of any one of claims 1 to 9 or instructions for implementing the method of any one of claims 10 to 18.

39. A chip, comprising: a processor and an interface for calling from a memory and running a computer program stored in said memory to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 9 or to perform the method of any one of claims 10 to 18.

40. A computer program product comprising computer program code for implementing the method of any one of claims 1 to 9 or for performing the method of any one of claims 10 to 18.